Let go
by Dutchie15
Summary: After a tough case is finally closed, a small talk on the beach helps Calleigh and Ryan to forget it all for a moment. [CaRWash Fluff]


**Disclaimer: Would you believe me if I told you they're mine? 'Cause in that case you should go check your sources again. They're not mine.**

**Summary: After a tough case is finally closed, a small talk on the beach helps Calleigh and Ryan to forget it all for a moment. CaRWash Fluff**

**A/N: I wrote this before season 5.**

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__"You waited for her after school. You knew her schedule; you found it in her backpack. When she got out, you told her she had to pay you back right away. But she didn't have any money, and you knew that. That didn't matter, you'd already thought of another solution. You took her to the park, telling her you went to go see a friend who could help. But in the park, far away from where anyone could see or hear anything, you raped her. She fought back, didn't she? The scratch on your cheek? I'm sure she did it. But no matter how hard she fought, she couldn't win. You were stronger. After you'd raped her, she told you she'd report you to the police. Now you have a problem. You don't want her to report you, so you take your pocketknife and slit her throat. Just to make it look a little more like a robbery, you took her purse. But you weren't satisfied and made all those cuts on her body. Her parents had to see her like that, did you even think of that? Of course you didn't. You dumped the knife in a random dumpster in the park, together with your shirt, which had blood all over it. It was warm, so no one cared about a man walking without a shirt on. So she was dead, you got rid of all evidence linking you to her, everything would be fine. Well, that's what you thought. You know, you can get rid of a knife and a shirt…but you can't get rid of DNA. And that, plus her diary, which helped a lot, points to you as her killer. So…how close to reality was I?" "I have nothing to say." "I bet not. But that's okay. The evidence says it all."_

Ryan was surprised. Usually Calleigh didn't interrogate like this. So story wise, almost attacking the suspect. But then again, not every case included a seventeen-year-old student, which had been raped and brutally murdered. Though this was the first time he had seen her so distracted, so involved with the case as this one. He watched her as she walked out of the interrogation room, while the officers took the suspect, or the murderer, and led him away.

Glad this case was over, Ryan stood up and walked out. He was about to go home, when he decided to go see if Calleigh was okay. After all, she'd walked out without a word, and she had been quiet the whole case. He looked for her in a couple of labs, but she wasn't there. Maybe she'd gone home already. But then he saw her ID still on the board in the 'interrogation' section. If she'd gone home, her ID would be in the 'off' section.

So he walked outside, hoping she'd gone outside for some air. Apparently she had, because when he walked down the stairs, he saw her on the beach, on a little private spot which belonged to the crime lab. She was walking along the shore, her hair waving in the wind, and when he came closer, he saw she was bare-foot. She didn't notice him until he was practically next to her.

"Hey."

"Hey. Do you mind if I join you?" He asked.

"Not at all. It's not my beach." She answered and smiled.

"I know, but maybe you wanted to be alone for a minute."

"Well, that was the original plan, but this is fine too."

"So…we nailed him, huh?"

"I can't believe you're still using that word."

"What? Nailed? I don't know, I guess it's stuck in my dictionary."

"I think I wouldn't have used the word anymore after getting one in my eye."

"Next to my eye, not in my eye."

"Damn lucky you." Calleigh said.

"I know that. The doctors told me that all the time."

"So is it all okay now?" Ryan sighted and rolled his eyes.

"Yes Calleigh, it's all okay now."

She chuckled. "Sorry. I just had to ask."

"No you didn't, you just wanna tease me."

"Alright, you got me. I like to tease you with the fact that you got a nail in your eye."

"No no, next to my eye."

"Next to your eye. Are you gonna keep correcting me?" Calleigh asked.

"Yes. If you are gonna keep saying it wrong." They both smiled.

"So again, we nailed him, huh?" Ryan asked.

"Yes, we nailed him."

"Are you glad we nailed him?"

"Yes, I didn't think we would've nailed him today."

Calleigh couldn't believe how childish they were acting. And she couldn't believe how much she liked it. It had been a long time since someone had made her smile like this, or just gave her the chance to be crazy and…childish.

"Ryan you can be such a child sometimes."

"I know. I'm sure you have it in you too, somewhere."

"Oh are you?"

"Yeah, deep inside your heart. You gotta throw it out sometimes, people will be surprised." Ryan said.

"By me being childish?"

"By you showing emotion at all. You never do. Delko told me you didn't even cry on Speedle's funeral." Calleigh's smile faded. Ryan couldn't believe he brought that up. What kind of an idiot was he?

"I…sorry. That slipped out." He said, looking at the sand.

"No, it's okay. I didn't cry. I deal with my grieve in other ways."

"Sure, that's good. I mean, I shouldn't have said it."

"Ah well…we all do those things sometimes. I can't believe Eric actually told you." Calleigh said.

"He's been talking to me a lot more recently. I'm almost starting to think we're becoming friends."

"That's great. You had a bad start."

"We all had." Calleigh smiled.

"Yes, no one really had a great start with you, did they?"

"Nope."

"We made up for that, didn't we?"

"You did." Ryan said.

Calleigh decided not to continue that topic. She knew he wouldn't like it and she'd rather not talk about it either. It brought back a lot of painful memories. Like Speedle's death. Her father's drinking problem…John's suicide.

"Are you okay?" Ryan asked.

"Huh? Oh yes, I'm fine. Just thinking."

"Maybe I should go, not?"

"Why?"

"Because I'm screwing up big time." He smiled.

"Ryan, I'm not mad at you for saying that about Speedle's funeral. I'm really not."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. I understand that it must frustrating for you to hear about Tim all the time, not knowing who he is, and knowing that you were the one to be added to the team after his death. But we're all glad you're here. I'm glad you're here."

"Well some of you have a strange way of showing that." He smiled.

She chuckled. "I can't deny that. But you have a strange way of introducing yourself too…let me think, there was this alligator involved."

Ryan laughed. "Oh that sweet animal."

"Sweet? He was about to bite my toes off!"

"I fed him! He couldn't be hungry anymore."

"Who says he was hungry? Maybe he just wanted to play."

"With your toes?" Calleigh realized how stupid it sounded and laughed.

"I love it when you laugh." Ryan said.

Calleigh felt her cheeks getting red. "Thanks."

"I'm serious. You have a beautiful smile. You just haven't showed it much lately."

"I didn't have much reason to show it, do I? With the mole, the constant fights, the nail in your eye…"

She knew damn well that she'd said 'in' instead of 'next to'. She just wanted to see if he would react. He did, but not with words, he glared at her with a look that said: 'Very-funny-Duquesne'. She smiled to him and started to walk back onto the beach, ready to go back to the lab and then, home. He followed her. She didn't see it, she just knew it. She putted her shoes back on and looked at him. He had indeed followed her and waited for her.

"Thanks Ryan."

"For what?"

"Cheering me up."

He shrugged and smiled.

"Anytime."


End file.
